Vulpix Line/FRLG
Vulpix can be found only on Routes 7 and 8, and in the Pokémon Mansion. It is a LeafGreen exclusive, and cannot be found in FireRed. Fire Stones may be bought in Celadon City. A free Fire Stone can be found in Mt. Ember. "Is that a Roar in your moveset, or are you just happy to see me?" Vulpix may be somewhat hard to obtain, but once caught, it can prove itself a valuable ally. It comes at a level that is not too far from its last useful level-up move, Flamethrower, and the levels of the very next gym leader's Pokémon permit a perfectly timely evolution into Ninetales, which makes it very useful for a good portion of the game. The Too Much Water days of Hoenn are long gone, and Ninetales has come to Kanto again to redeem its reputation and claim its rightful place. Important Matchups * Gym #3 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): If Vulpix has not evolved yet, it can fight Voltorb and Pikachu with Dig; Voltorb is 2-3HKOed by it, and Pikachu is 1-2HKOed. Raichu outspeeds and outdamages, so Vulpix cannot win against it. In addition, if Vulpix gets paralysed in the process, Dig is very unlikely to ever hit, because it is a two-turn move and paralysis can occur anytime in between execution. If Ninetales is already evolved, Voltorb and Pikachu will be even easier, and Raichu will be possible; Dig is a 2-3HKO depending on Ninetales' stats and level, but Shock Wave always deals less damage either way. * Rival (Pokémon Tower): Much of this matchup depends on Ninetales' evolutionary stage and moveset. Vulpix and Ninetales can both Dig Growlithe or Charmeleon to death, but without Flamethrower even Exeggcute and Ivysaur become significantly more difficult, especially in Vulpix status. With Flamethrower, they are both very easy. Wartortle is no good for Vulpix, but Ninetales actually deals more damage with Flamethrower than Wartortle can with Water Gun, if already at level 29 or higher; Gyarados, not having Water STAB, is manageable with Secret Power, but will be rather difficult due to its Thrash and Intimidate - after an Intimidate, Flamethrower once again does more than Secret Power, though this is not an issue since Ninetales still outdamages. Vulpix will find Gyarados just plain impossible unless it manages to burn it with Will-O-Wisp, and that requires taking a Thrash first, which is a 2HKO; fighting Gyarados with Vulpix is, in general, a rather bad idea. The lead Pidgeotto is not a big issue, providing Flamethrower, but very annoying without, as it also has Sand-Attack. Kadabra should preferably only be attempted by Ninetales, which defeats it easily, but Vulpix can also make do as its Secret Power 2-3HKOs and Kadabra 3-4HKOs with Confusion: if Vulpix's level and stats are good enough, it will come out victorious. * Giovanni (Rocket Hideout, Ground-type): Ninetales is surprisingly good against Onix, as it can 2-3HKO it with Flamethrower and take up to three Rock Throws from it, despite the type disadvantage; Rhyhorn is even better, as its most dangerous offensive move is Stomp and once again, Flamethrower nets the 2-3HKO. Ninetales can also take Kangaskhan down with strategic play: while Mega Punch outdamages Flamethrower, Ninetales is faster and can burn Kangaskhan with Will-O-Wisp. Since Mega Punch is only a 3HKO, even missing Will-O-Wisp once will not be an issue, and once burned, Kangaskhan will not be threatening at all; Flamethrower will KO in another two or three turns, depending on residual burn damage. * Gym #4 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): Flamethrower provides Ninetales a clean OHKO against Tangela, as well as a 2HKO against Victreebel and Vileplume. Neither of them comes anywhere close to OHKOing or outspeeding. * Gym #5 - Koga (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): Ninetales is easily destroyed by a critical Selfdestruct from either Koffing, and the non-critical version will still deal preposterous amounts of damage. Ninetales can either shoot for the OHKO with Flamethrower or Will-O-Wisp them to be sure it can survive a hit (critical hits do not ignore burns). Muk and Weezing cannot explode, but they are known for their accuracy shenanigans. Again, Will-O-Wisp is the best move to start with, so that Ninetales is both ensured steady damage and takes less damage from their attacks. Be prepared to switch or miss - a Will-O-Wisp miss can mean the end for Ninetales. Usage in this gym is not recommended, unless no better options are available. * Fighting Dojo (Saffron City, Fighting-type): Hitmonlee is the most dangerous, its Hi Jump Kick being a 2HKO; however, Ninetales outspeeds it and can burn with Will-O-Wisp, turning the matchup upside down. This will allow the KO in two more turns with Flamethrower; Protect may also be temporarily taught to predict the move after a turn of Foresight or Mind Reader, profiting of the recoil in the event it misses. Hitmonchan is the same, except its Sky Uppercut is closer to 3HKO range than 2HKO, making the fight a little easier. * Rival (Silph Co.): Flamethrower takes care of Pidgeot in two or three turns, Exeggcute in one and Venusaur in two. Flash Fire helps against Growlithe or Charizard too, though both will take some time to go down: Growlithe's Intimidate makes Dig only a 3HKO, and Charizard is only 4HKOed by Return, which deals exactly as much damage as its Wing Attack. They also have the same base Speed, so Ninetales will only win if its nature does not lower it. Gyarados and Blastoise are a no; both outdamage Ninetales heavily and Will-O-Wisp is useless against them, since Gyarados has Dragon Rage now. Alakazam is dangerous on the surface, but actually gets 2HKOed by Flamethrower or Return, and Future Sight - its only damaging move - is not even close to a 2HKO against Ninetales. Ninetales does need to be at +0 Attack against it, though; any previous Intimidate needs to be negated in order to secure the 2HKO before Alakazam starts spamming Calm Mind. * Giovanni (Silph Co., Ground-type): Flamethrower 2HKOs Nidorino, though Rhyhorn now has Rock Blast and needs to be avoided. Kangaskhan can be beaten by using Will-O-Wisp to cut its Attack, then spamming Flamethrower. Nidoqueen can be either 3HKOed by Flamethrower or worn down with Will-O-Wisp, like Kangaskhan. * Gym #6 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): It is recommended that Ninetales be taught Return before fighting in this gym; while its damage output is similar to Flamethrower in this context, it will help against Sabrina's Pokémon if they start using Calm Mind. Kadabra is 2HKOed by either move, regardless of stat boosts; Mr. Mime can only be 2HKOed by Return, providing Kadabra has not put up Reflect; Mr. Mime's Barrier will also turn Return into a 3HKO, though in that case, a combination of one Return and one Flamethrower may still do the trick. Alakazam 2-3HKOs with Psychic even without Calm Minds and Ninetales is not strong enough to take it down without giving it any setup chances, so it should be defeated by a Pokémon that can get the job done faster. Venomoth is weak to Fire, roast it. * Gym #7 - Blaine (Cinnabar Island, Fire-type): Flash Fire is a godsend in this gym. It makes Ninetales vulnerable only to a handful of moves, most of them non-threatening. Growlithe can be 2-3HKOed with Dig, depending on Ninetales' Attack, considering Intimidate; Ponyta is also 2HKOed if Intimidate is no longer in effect, but 3HKOed otherwise. It should be kept in mind that Ponyta is likely better off fought by beginning with Return, not Dig, as its Bounce will otherwise bypass it. Rapidash is 3HKOed by Return or Dig, and it has Bounce as well, so Ninetales should preferably use Dig when Rapidash springs up. Arcanine is too tough for Ninetales; it outdamages Dig with Take Down, has Intimidate, and cannot be burned. * Gym #8 - Giovanni (Viridian City, Ground-type): Ninetales only has winning chances against any one of Giovanni's Pokémon, and not without taking big risks. It can take an Earthquake from all but the ace Rhyhorn, but struggles to do so, and must Will-O-Wisp them to outdamage them. Dugtrio, theoretically less dangerous because of its low level and Attack, may trap Ninetales with Sand Tomb if it misses Will-O-Wisp even just once, and any one critical hit from Giovanni's Pokémon will end the fox. Overall, it is much better to just not use Ninetales here. * Rival (Route 22, pre-Elite Four): The glaring issues Ninetales has in this battle are with Rhyhorn, and either Blastoise or Gyarados. All of them must be avoided, as they are too strong. Everything else is varying degrees of doable: Pidgeot, Exeggcute and Venusaur are easy, all anywhere from an OHKO to a 3HKO with Flamethrower; Growlithe and Charizard can be annoying, but Ninetales can make do respectively by negating Intimidate and outspeeding, as it will match Charizard's Wing Attack damage with its Return. Ninetales can 2HKO Alakazam with Return if its Attack is not lowered, though it needs to be healthy to fight it, as Alakazam's Psychic is a 3HKO close to a 2HKO and it is likely to outspeed Ninetales, as well. * Elite Four Lorelei (Indigo Plateau, Ice-type): Dewgong, Slowbro and Lapras have Surf. Do not touch them. Jynx will be 1-2HKOed by Flamethrower. Cloyster does have Water STAB, but it is Dive and its Special Defense is ridiculous, so Flamethrower will 1-2HKO (the OHKO is highly likely) and Dig can be used to bypass Dive damage, in the event it does survive a hit. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Ninetales can technically 2HKO both of the Onix with Flamethrower, and even the higher levelled one can only 3HKO with Earthquake; however, their moves will still damage Ninetales consistently, and they are likely best left to a Pokémon that has Grass or Water coverage. Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan can both only 3HKO Ninetales with their respective best moves; Ninetales can go for the Return 2HKO against the former and the Flamethrower 3HKO against the latter, or choose to burn them before finishing them off. Machamp has Guts, however, and its Cross Chop is a net 2HKO; Ninetales should not fight it. * Elite Four Agatha (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): All of Agatha's Pokémon are dispatched by Flamethrower, a 2HKO. Despite Gengar's Speed being technically higher, Ninetales is still likely to outspeed due to its level advantage. Keep it awake in case the ghosts use sleep-inducing moves, so that it may avoid nasty Dream Eater and Nightmare damage. * Elite Four Lance (Indigo Plateau, Dragon-type): Ninetales can stall the lead Gyarados with a combination of Will-O-Wisp and Confuse Ray, which cuts Hyper Beam damage down to a mere 4HKO; its Dragon Rage is also laughable at this point. The Dragonair have Shed Skin, thus burning them is not that effective, but Return still scores a 3HKO against them, and Hyper Beam is a 3HKO coming from them. Aerodactyl will outspeed and knock Ninetales out with AncientPower, however, and Dragonite is a powerhouse; neither of them should be fought. * Champion Rival (Indigo Plateau): Flamethrower works wonders against Pidgeot, as well as Exeggutor or Venusaur. Arcanine is doable if Ninetales switches in after Intimidate is consumed, so that its Dig may outdamage Arcanine's moves; it is important to note that Arcanine's ExtremeSpeed is in KO range if Ninetales' health is a quarter or less, so Ninetales should fight with due caution and be healed as needed. Return and Charizard's Wing Attack are still on par with strength, so the matchup is even. Alakazam's Psychic much less dangerous now that it no longer sports Calm Mind, hitting 3HKO range only; Return still 2HKOs, and Flamethrower can get the job done if Alakazam uses Reflect instead. Gyarados and Blastoise obviously have Water coverage, and Rhydon has Earthquake, so avoid them all. * Post-Game: Ninetales and Mewtwo are both specially-based, except Ninetales' resources are way more limited in comparison. Ninetales can burn it with Will-O-Wisp and perhaps confuse it with Confuse Ray, but the work it can do ends here. Moves Vulpix's initial moveset consists of Tail Whip, Roar, Quick Attack and Will-O-Wisp when caught at the earliest possible point in the game. It gets Confuse Ray at level 21. This move, plus Will-O-Wisp, will be its main assets as a tank throughout the game, and should be kept on its moveset at all times. Ignore Imprison at level 25. Flamethrower, at level 29, is a fantastic STAB move, and the only move worth waiting on the evolution for. After this, Vulpix learns Safeguard at level 33, Grudge at level 37 and Fire Spin at level 41, none of which are any useful. Ninetales, as a Stone evolution, does not learn any new moves except the very Fire Spin, at level 45. Again, useless. The TM movepool of this line is pretty barren. Flamethrower can be taught early via TM, but this is not recommended, due to the cost. Fire Blast and Overheat are other good options, but both of them come quite late into the game, and a Ninetales without Flamethrower will struggle to get there and also be useful. Just wait until Vulpix learns Flamethrower naturally, then evolve. Dig can make grinding easier, since it is available in Celadon City and it gives Vulpix an okay attack to train with, especially when fighting against Electric-types (the Engineer on Route 11 is excellent grinding material). Ninetales may even want to keep Dig for good, since it essentially learns nothing else that is useful, unless Return is still available; this one-time only TM, however, is better spent on a Pokémon with much better Attack than Ninetales. Technically, Hidden Power is an option, but considering how rare it is for it to have a decent base power (over 60) and given that Ninetales' Attack and Special Attack are not too far apart from each other, both Dig and Return are likely to provide better coverage and/or damage output, even if Ninetales' Hidden Power is special. Recommended moveset: Confuse Ray, Will-O-Wisp, Flamethrower, Return / Dig Recommended Teammates * Water-types: Since almost all good Grass-types in Kanto are also part Poison, the best companions for Ninetales are actually Water-types, specifically pure Water-types or dual types that do not gain a weakness to Rock or Ground. Surf is a great asset against both types, and Pokémon such as Poliwrath and Slowbro also have additional STAB to deal with their fellow Water-type enemies. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Blastoise, Golduck, Poliwrath, Slowbro, Starmie, Vaporeon * Grass-types: It is highly unlikely that there will be no Water-type on the team capable of filling Ninetales in on its own weaknesses. In any case, should Water-types not be available, Grass-types can deal with most of Ninetales' sworn enemies just fine. Exeggutor is the best, since it retains a resistance to Earthquake. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Venusaur, Vileplume, Victreebel, Exeggutor Other Vulpix's stats Ninetales' stats * What Nature do I want? Something like Modest or Mild would be nice, to maximise STAB damage output. If Ninetales is meant to go the annoyer road with Confuse Ray and Will-O-Wisp, Bold and Calm are equally good. * At what point in the game should I be evolved? At level 29, after learning Flamethrower. It can be evolved earlier if Ninetales is taught the move by TM, but that would be wasteful, since the price tag is high and Vulpix needs relatively little grinding to reach Flamethrower level. * How good is the Vulpix line in a Nuzlocke? Pretty good. It can perform well in a number of battles, and is almost broken for the first half of the game. It loses some steam against the Elite Four, but that is mostly out of unfortunate typing and the amount of Water that Lorelei has. * Weaknesses: Ground, Rock, Water * Resistances: Grass, Bug, Steel, Ice * Immunities: Fire (Flash Fire) * Neutralities: Normal, Flying, Ghost, Dark, Dragon, Electric, Poison, Psychic, Fighting Category:FireRed/LeafGreen Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses